Every September in the City of Kazo there is a fire walking ceremony. It is called Shūki taisai saitō goma hiwatari-shiki in Japanese; 柴燈護摩火渡り式. “Hiwatari” literally means fire crossing and that’s exactly what you do at this ceremony. The ceremony is steeped in ritual and history and has been practisedRead More →
CESS ~ The centre for Environmental Science in Saitama, or the much more manageable “CESS” for short, is a unique museum in Kazo City, Saitama. It was designed to create awareness and educate about the environment. Particularly, it focuses on the impact of our lifestyles on the ecology and ideasRead More →
Water hyacinth, Doyono Furusato Otone Roadside Station, Kazo City, Saitama, Japan. There are several different type of flowers that bloom annually in summer. One of the rarer ones, in Japan, is water hyacinth which is an aquatic plant native to South America. Supposedly they came to Japan in the MeijiRead More →
I’ve brought the kids to Tobu Zoo a few times over the years. Our initial visit was about seven years ago and we weren’t as impressed with the zoo side on that first visit. However, they have improved the zoo over the years and we have grown to like itRead More →
The Onihei Edo-dokoro Parking Area is a rest stop in Hanyu, Saitama Prefecture, on the Tohoku Expressway on the way into Tokyo. It is most commonly called the Hanyu Parking Area despite their best efforts to market it by the name of the character it was called after. Onihei Edo-dokoroRead More →
A new branch of Kona’s Coffee Hawaiian Pancake House opened this month (August 2018) in Kazo City. There is a whole new development in the area where it opened: around Viva Home in the Shimotakayanagi area of Kazo. Kona’s Coffee is a Hawaiian style pancake and coffee house restaurant withRead More →
Rice Field Art, Ancient Lotus, Water lilies, Wintersweet, Plum Blossoms, Cherry Blossoms, Observation Tower, Nature Hall, Winter Illumination and Park (with small playground) at Kodai Hasu no Sato in Gyoda City. Also a popular spot to witness the first sunrise of the year. Kodai Hasu no Sato Kodai Hasu noRead More →
Musashi No Mura Family Land in the Green is an ideal amusement park for small children. They have a really good selection of amusements that are child friendly. There is also an area with farm animals and and an option to horse ride. You can pick fruits at certain timesRead More →
A new digital and creative play space for children, Little Planet, is opening in the Lalaport in Shinmisato on July 11th 2018. Update February 2023: it closed permanently on January 23rd 2023. And the ever popular, and one of the oldest children’s play areas in Saitama Prefecture, Kids Castle (alsoRead More →
For the second year in a row the “tafune” boat ride and iris festival at Ukiya no Sato in Kazo has been cancelled. However, the Iris are not being cut down and they should bloom from early June to around the end of June. They are the Ayame – IrisRead More →